The Buddha said clearly that taints (āsava) were the dhamma oppressing living beings. Kama-tanhā is desire for sensual pleasure. Bhava-tanhā is this life not good & desire for next life. Ditthāsava is not knowing the 5 khandhas & taking it as me & mine. Avijjāsava is not knowing the 4 Noble truths.

These 4 murderers are the 4 āsava & killing living beings to become bones of mountain & fleshes of earth. Can it be oppressed to everyone? It can’t oppress to someone has the knowledge on the khandha. We should be very thankful for the Buddha’s attributes & service. With our own desire can’t do anything except only deaths. Our worshipping of the Buddha are not reaching to the nyan Buddha & instead on the form Buddha.

We don’t know the nature of the khandha & oppress by the āsava. We don’t let the nyan knowing on the khandha existence that we are suffered up to their treatment. The Buddha said; “Someone knows (jhanato) & sees (passato) the khandha existence with knowledge (nyan knowing) will free from the āsava.”

Āsava are making living beings whirling around & sinking in saṁsarā. Ānāsava (no taints) is Nibbāna. Seeing impermanence in the khandha & taint of ignorance (avijjāsava) becomes knowledge (vijjā). It’s not mine that becomes vanishing & taint of wrong view falls off. It has the nature of vanishing that no desire for it. And then taint of sensuality (kamāsava) falls away.

In this way& the desire for becoming is also useless. Āsava is like a mother. Why the nyan knowing not fits in with the khandha existence together? Because of unwise attention (ayonisomanasikara) & falls into the province of āsava. With wise attention (yonisomanasikara) nyan knowing & khandha existence are fit in together. Without practice & āsava is unshakable.

The perception of man & woman disappear & khandha appears is the emptiness dhamma (suññāta dhamma). Knowing about the 5 khandhas is becoming a knowing person (jhanato). Let us contemplate it & becoming a seeing person (passato). It’s just knowing & not including seeing yet.

Therefore have to contemplate at it for the knowing and seeing. By combining these 2 & āsava will cease. For e.g, seeing a white colour object. Knowing the white colour is the aggregate of consciousness (The 5 aggregates are working together. Here just talking about the knowing which is consciousness).

Contemplate this knowing is passato. Contemplate as, it exists or not exists & you’ll not find it. It’s existing & not existing dhamma.

Is there any other thing exist? The 4 āsava cease & no khandha exists. Without the khandha & no death exists. No piles of bone, blood & flesh any more. Therefore with the way of jhanato & passato will be finished the PRACTICE.

Afraid of dukkha & people are listening & practicing dhamma. In the Dhammacakka Discourse (the First Discourse), the Buddha mentioned some of the dukkhas. But among the many the most frightening to you all are dukkhas in the planes of misery. Dukkha is the resultant dhamma.

What is the cause you need to think about it. Taking the 5 khandhas as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Ditthi is the cause of it. If wrong view is abandoned the biggest root of dukkha to the planes of misery is destroyed. Even the Buddha said: extinguished the head fire later but killed Ditthi quickly. The chest pierced by a spear was also in this way. Piercing with a spear only dies once. If have wrong view & dies for uncountable time.

(Sayadaw continued the story of Anathapindika & the outsiders. They were discussion on dhamma.) Anathapindika gave the answer to them on the causes of wrong view. ① Unwise attention (ayonisomanasikara) ② Listening to the wrong teachings. There are many causes for ditthi to arise.

These 2 causes are the most important points (There were 8 causes, but he answered them used only 2) ① With the first cause, one falls into the planes of misery is by oneself ② With the 2nd cause, one falls into the planes of misery by others.

The Buddha said; our homes were the 4 planes of misery. Let us dealing with the first one. If we separate the body & get the 32 parts of it. Hair of the head, bodily hair, teeth, bones, etc. And ditthi becomes a little bit shaken. Tanhā’s perception of the pretty & beautiful body dies out.

But ditthi not falls off. If you ask who hair it’s ? Ditthi comes in as my hair, my teeth, etc. Then still can’t do it with the 32 parts of the body (with bodily parts contemplation). It’s quite terrible. It will still come as my father’s bones, my father’s grave. Differentiate it into mind & form. We attach to the mind as me. Attach to the voice as me, etc.

This much also ditthi is unshakable. Dividing the 5 khandhas into the 4 satipatthāna & seeing the 5 khandhas as impermanent dukkha sacca. And then ditthi is fleeing. Until not seeing impermanence ditthi is sticking to it, & still not falls apart. It’s very difficult for ditthi to fall off without the practice of vipassanā. (Just look at the Brahma gods. They attain jhanas but still have ditthi) Anicca (impermanence) & aniccanupassanā nyan (knowledge of the contemplation of impermanence) join together only ditthi falls off.

People are looking into the mirrors & ditthi arises. Using the mirrors are terrible. There was a story of a lion looked into a mirror & died. If he showed its teeth, the shadow in the mirror also showed its teeth. If he was roaring at it, also the shadow there was roaring back.

Taking its shadow as another lion & ended up in death. Here also looking into the mirror wrongly that end up in the planes of misery. (Sayadaw’s talk became humorous). The mirror is on it own but you have the mind of a lion. Unable to differentiate the shadow & the person.

Taking the great elements (the 4 great elements) as me & ditthi arises. Don’t think that looking into the mirror is easy. Because of the mirror will be in sorrow & lamentation. Has to look at the mirror in this way. Does the shadow in the mirror is oneself or other? If you say myself, then the one outside the mirror will be other. If, it’s other & should not be looked like you.

The mirror has the clearness of the great elements that shadow appears. It’s difficult if you don’t know how to say about it. The 2nd cause is listening to the wrong teaching. For an example, it was done by the permanent God (The Creator), etc.. Also with the Buddhist view of kammasakkata nyan,

I do it & I get it (kamma & kammic result), ditthi not falls away. It becomes sassata ditthi (view of eternalism). There were no wholesome & unwholesome dhammas & a country had been come into ruin. (Referred to a jataka story of the wrong teaching & view which destroyed the country. This kind of incidents can be seen in today world)

If you can look at the khandha & ayatana as suññāta ditthi will fall away. I’ll give you the way of knowledge. Still not penetrate at suññāta & ditthi will not fall off. Therefore suññāta dhamma is very important. The 5 khandhas only have the cause & effect of D.A process. It only exists as dukkha & samudaya.

Only listening to these kind of talks ditthi will fall away. (Anathapindika answered to the outsiders in this way). “My view on the 5 khandhas is, these are saṅkhata dhamma (conditioned phenomena). They have the characteristics of impermanence, dukkha & not-self.

Therefore I don’t take them as this is mine, this I am & this is my self.” Someone doesn’t practice is not knowing it. Someone discerns impermanence & taking them as this is mine, this I am & this is my self are impossible. You are not listening to wrong teachings, & don’t have unwise attention. So, contemplate impermanence with perseverance. It has the power of destroying the root to the planes of misery for you.

You should do this with satisfaction. What is the use of just for eating & going to the planes of misery. (This warning was hitting to the heart. Most living beings born here as human beings & just doing for these. They are using their good kamma just for doing stupid things). Do the main work for the happiness of freeing oneself from the saṁsāric dukkha. Going downstream is not difficult.

Do you only concern for the stomach or wanting to end saṁsāric dukkha? For not becoming unwise attention you have to contemplate impermanence at any time. Also it is necessary for listening to suññāta dhamma. In this way you will be freed from the 4 planes of misery.

[In Sāvatthi, Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha said to the monks. It couldn’t be discerned the beginning of a living being but knew the causes of it. Sayadaw said, there were a lot of arguments about this problem.

The Buddha was said to be known everything & why didn’t he knows that? He quoted the Buddha’s saying that if he traced it backwardly, only his life span was finished & would never come to an end.

But he knew the causes of the khandhas. It was ignorance & craving. It was more important to know this & could end dukkha. It’s important to distinguish what is essential & what is not. Find out the cause only will solve the problem & not with the result.

The Buddha gave an example, the water in the ocean could be dry up when the time came for the end of the world. But the life of a living being would never end if he couldn’t destroy ignorance &craving. This was one of the reason why the beginning of a living being couldn’t discern directly.

He gave 2 other examples again. Mt. Meru & the earth could be disappeared but without destroyed ignorance & craving dukkha would never end.

It’s also like a tree bears fruits. From the fruit a tree grows out, from a tree bear fruits, etc… The Buddha said, first to destroy ditthi & later ignorance & craving. Because ignorance & craving were like the root of a tree. Ditthi was like water supported the root.

Supported by ditthi, ignorance & craving became stronger & bigger. This is a very important point. After enter the stream & the advanced stages are not difficult anymore. With people experiences, the life of a sotāpanna is changing dramatically.

In this talk we can feel sayadaw’s concern & compassion for his 2 disciples who were leaving the place, after practising for sometimes. They were only at vipassanā nyan, & like a young fruit easy to spoil. They should give their times for regular practice to be matured and reached the goal. Vipassanā nyan is aniyata dhamma (unstable, still can degenerate) & magga nyan is niyata dhamma (stable, i.e. Nibbāna)]

The Buddha said to the monks, it couldn’t see your own beginning. The beginning of this khandha saṁsarā was unknowable. This referred to the physical body saṁsarā (as living being). But he knew it causes. Even knowing of the body saṁsarā is not beneficial. It can bring saṁvega only & can’t lead to liberation. It’s beneficial to know the causes of its beginning.

By knowing the causes & has the benefit of stopping it. I will show the example of someone who can’t exterminate the beginning of the dhamma (i.e. ignorance & craving.) The 3rd example is the great earth can be disappeared. Be without the ending of ignorance & craving, saṁsāra can’t end. It’s very fearful indeed.

So, practice hard for the ending of it. Even it’s not easy to know these dhamma. There are a lot of people don’t know it. Even it is not easy to have the ability of ear for listening these kinds of talk. For e.g. non-Buddhist countries. With knowing & not practicing is like has the medicine & not taking it.

So, it can’t cure the illness. Before looking at other’s faults; first has to know that am I free from it? We can discern the 3 characteristics only without the darkness of ignorance. This girl is pretty but no morality. Is it good? Here it also, with the knowing but not do the practice. No cessation of ignorance is,

because we take the khandha as this is mine, this I am & this is my self. Ditthi is leading & joining with tanhā & avijjā supporting them by not knowing the true nature. So, we are making it as me & mine. Three of them are together. Ignorance & craving are making the khandha. Again from the khandha, ignorance & craving arise. Again khandha arises, it’s on & on never end.

There are 2 views: atta ditthi (self view) & anatta ditthi (not self view). Seeing with the anatta ditthi, ignorance & craving are not finishing yet. But becomes sotāpanna & free from the planes of misery. After killing ditthi & continue to kill ignorance & craving. Must do the work of the right path factors (sammā magganga). Must look for a spiritual friend (kalyna-mitta).

The 5 wrong path factors (miccha magganga) are, ignorance, volitional formation, craving, clinging, action. If the Buddha was not arsing the right path factors couldn’t exist. Without associate with the disciples of the Buddha right path factors can’t arise. The 5 path factors of insight right view are still young.

If it’s young like a fruit can be spoiled. Encounter with coarse objects it becomes spoiled. It is similar to jhanic samadhi. With Path Knowledge (right view of the Path – magga sammā-ditthi), and it becomes stable. (niyata). Are the 5 path factors & the 8 path factors, far from each other? For someone doing the practice is not for enough. Not doing the practice, even the 5 path factors (i.e. vipassanā nyan) will disappear.

Because of the objects of the 5 khandhas it becomes insight knowledge. If happening like this, it destroys the poison fruits of the 5 wrong path factors (i.e. avijjā, saṅkhāra, tanhā, upadānā, kamma). The 5 path factors become 8 factors & future khandha not arises.

In the D.A process, paticcasamupada is the cause of our khandha. And paticca – samupana is the result of the khandha. In our khandhas only cause and effect exist. Beings are alive with these two phenomena going on & on. There are 2 kinds of life; wholesome & unwholesome lives.

If feeling arises & a being is alive with feeling. If craving arises is alive with craving. We are alive with one mind. Without the insight contemplation towards whatever mind arises is alive with ignorance. It’s unwholesome life. Mind is a life faculty. Without it is dead. We were growing up from young until now by wasting the rice & increasing the earth.

Because all are alive with the unwholesome mind states. After death don’t make merits for the dead person. It’s only one way to go (to the planes of misery). By contemplation of impermanence of whatever mind arises is living with knowledge & it’s a wholesome life. Can’t contemplate the impermanence of whatever causes arise & will give the results. Don’t pretend to be a moral person.

Differentiate with the wholesome & unwholesome qualities of mind & it becomes clear. Have to differentiate with the types of mind. I’ll give you a vipassanā mirror. Knowing the whatever wholesome & unwholesome mind is vipassanā. Don’t be afraid of greed & anger arise. Should be afraid of not knowing them when they arise. In the satipatthāna sutta, the Buddha not saying of not let them arose. Instead to know when they arose.

Not let them arise is impossible. As a worldling encounters with sense objects it will arise. They arise for the D.A process. If you follow behind with knowing & the process will not continue. You have to make friends with enemies. In this way the path factors send the dhamma of painful rebirths to Nibbāna (Apāya dhamma becomes
Nibbānic dhamma.) So, no need to talk about you don’t have anything to contemplate.

I am always reminding you of paying attention to the dhamma. It means contemplate the arising dhamma from behind. Contemplate the preceding mind with the following mind is dhamma attention. Impermanence & magga are paying attention. It’s the same as be mindful & contemplate with paññā. Before is impermanence & follow behind with magga.

If you ask me; “Why the preceding mind is passing away?” Saṅkhāra dhamma has the nature of passing away. If you have doubt why it’s vanishing & knowing it as saṅkhāra dhamma. In the 5 khandhas whatever arises has to be vanished. Therefore you have to cross into the province of asaṅkhata which is free from the province of saṅkhata.

The province of saṅkhata is always connection with others. With relations to others create mental & physical suffering. (It can be with human, animals & natural surroundings). Asaṅkhata Nibbāna is free from these things & always with happiness. Path factors send to the ending of saṅkhata dhamma.

Form (rūpa) is connection with kamma, mind, temperature & foods. And the mind is with sense objects & sense bases (aroms & dvaras). Totally free from these things is without the suffering of mind & body. By seeing the impermanence of the saṅkhata dhamma, its disenchantment & must follow to its ending. And at the time of arriving to the province of asa ṅkhata is alive with the asaṅkhata Nibbāna.

If you differentiate yourself as worthy or worthless; following with path factors is worthy & the noble period. And not follow with the path factors is an animal period (moha leads to animal). If you are living with the path factors is an ariyan (noble being).

According to the Buddha, the best way of worshipping to him was with Dhamma. It was not reciting Dhamma. By practicing Dhamma & the ending of dukkha was the realization of Nibbāna. This was the greatest worship. It’s also the same to a teacher.

I am teaching to you with saṅkhāra dhamma. And you are also listening to me with saṅkhāra dhamma. (Sayadaw was using the last words of the Buddha to teach vipassanā). This physical body exists by kamma, mind, temperature & foods. It’s conditioned, so end up in ageing, sickness & death. This is referring to the relative truth (sammuti sacca).

According to the ultimate reality, now in the khandha, dhammas are arising by conditions & seeing their impermanences. These are seeing with the 5 path factors. Vaya – dhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādetha - Saṅkhāra dhamma are have the nature of vanishing. Don’t be forgetful! After the Buddha had passed away,

the following verses were recited by Sakka (King of the Tavatimsa Heaven): Aniccā vata sankhārā uppāda-vaya-dhammino; Uppajjitvā nirujjhanti, Tesaṁ vūpassamo sukho – Sankhārā dhamma are impermanent. The ending of them is Nibbāna.

(In most of his talks, Sayadaw never translated the Pali, word by word. He took the main points for teaching.)
(Here Sayadaw made a very important point of the last day of the Buddha. The Buddha reminded the monks on practice & Sakka pointed out the end of the practice, i.e. Nibbāna).

Sakka was already a sotāpanna. So, he talked about followed to the end of the saṅkhāra dhamma. But most of you, after a person dies & say it’s saṅkhāra dhamma. So, it’s unstable & using it for reflection on death(marananusati).

The right place to use is in one’s own khandha. You have to use it for yourself when still alive. It is not for after death. At the end of saṅkhāra is Nibbāna exists (He explained the saṅkhāra dhamma had the nature of vanishing. By clapping 2 hands & sound arose & vanished.) In a being whole life & the whole of saṁsāra was with conditioning & vanishing.

We are going like this without beginning & ending. In your daily life just searching & eating, searching & eating etc. & it will never end for the whole life (It’s very important not to forget the true nature of dukkha; i.e. oppressive, conditioning, burning & changing. Need to reflect them very often with our own experiences in life. Then we can easily to let go of attachment.).

Explaining with the D.A process and it becomes more clearer. It’s not killing the past ignorance & volitional formation. But to kill what is arising in the present of ignorance & volitional formation which are arising by causes. Because of ignorance & volitional formation the 5 khandhas of dukkha sacca are arising all the times.

A person contemplates impermanence is doing the work of abandoning avijjā & saṅkhāra. From ignorance & it becomes knowledge. Only ignorance arises that volitional formation comes into being. Vijjā (knowledge) is the contemplative right view of the path factor.

The Buddha said not to be forgetful was reminding us to do vipassanā. Asking you for the practice is to make avijjā & saṅkhāra cease. Only with practice & reach our goals. When the path knowledge is reaching to the khandha & tanhā also ceases. Without practice is except developing dukkha & no other thing.

If you really look at this khandha, it doesn’t include any personal being nor an affectionate thing in it. You will only find out the arising & passing away of phenomena. Therefore the ending of impermanence is true happiness.

The reason I am asking you; “Do you see the ending of impermanence?” This is asking you of seeing Nibbāna or not. Don’t ask me what is Nibbāna. It means doesn’t has this khandha. This khandha is dukkha sacca. Therefore you know it as doesn’t has one’s dukkha.

That’s the real happiness. Are you satify with Nibbāna exists at the end of impermanence? The Buddha & myself taught you to see impermanence, its disenchantment & its ending (i.e. Yathabhūta, NIbbida & Magga Nyans) Dukkha covers up the process that can’t see Nirodha.

Consume the 5 khandhas with the 5 magganga (path factors). After it becomes the 8 path factors & the consuming process is finished. At this place Nibbāna arises. You can’t see head, body, hands & feet. The two armed length body does not exist. At the place of 2 armed length body Nibbāna appears. Therefore dukkha sacca khandha covers up Nibbāna.

Even a person can’t see impermanence is covering up with ignorance (i.e. ignorance or kilesa covers up impermanence or dukkha. Again dukkha covers up Nibbāna). Therefore wanting to become a sotāpanna it needs a teacher. I am giving you the way of removing ignorance. By listening the dhamma and know the way of uncovering. This duty is the teacher’s duty.

To remove dukkha is your duty (i.e. following to the end of the process). Nibbāna is connecting with the 5 khandhas (i.e. close to the khandha).

The 5 khandha disappear & Nibbāna appears. Condense the whole teaching;the Buddha asked for practice to develop insight knowledge (i.e. the last verses of the Buddha). Sakka urged the yogis following it to the ending (i.e. Path knowledge). If you combine the verses of the Buddha & Sakka, they were only vipassanā knowledge & the Path knowledge.

Nibbāna is cool & peaceful nature. Stable & not perishable nature. It’s without form & shape. If you don’t understand Nibbāna & have the view of annihilation (uccheda ditthi). Taking the peacefulness of the arahants as nothing exist is uccheda.

(Some later Buddhists even taking the arahants as symbol of selfishness was totally wrong. They don’t know that even the Buddha was an arahant.)

With wrong view you can’t realize Nibbāna. Because it’s the dhamma rejecting by Nibbāna. If nothing exists & people don’t like it. But they like the heavenly world & mansions which arise by cause & effect relationship. Nibbāna is apaccaya causeless phenomenon.

It doesn’t has any connection with kamma, mind, temperature & foods. If it has connection with them will also perish. There are 2 causes; the causes of becoming & arriving. So, Nibbāna is the cause of arriving there & not becoming. It’s apaccaya & asaṅkhata – free from conditions (from Dhammasangani).

A person wants to get out from the saṅkhata province can arrive to Nibbāna. If not, will not arrive there. Nibbāna always exists as a natural phenomenon. Then, why only the Buddha arose in this world people could arrive there? (except the Paccekabuddha).

Only the Buddha could teach the dhamma to arrive there. The Buddha taught about it, so people could practice & arrive there. You have to ride on the maggan train (with the path factors). There are different kinds of train. Trains to good destinations (sugati) & bad destinations (dugati).

Without the Buddha arising, living beings are riding these 2 trains in turn. Asking you to contemplate saṅkhata dhamma is wanting you to see impermanence, its disenchantment & freedom from it. The reason of wanting you to do vipassanā is to come out from saṅkhata, and the knowledge need to be sharper. I am asking you about the ending of impermanence is the same as the ending of saṅkhata.

The asaṅkhata is close to the ending of saṅkhata. Therefore the Buddha in the Samyutta Nikāya said that Nibbāna was near (Nibbānaseva santike) (Sayadaw gave an example for this point). At first, pictures are arising & disappearing one by one on the movie screen. After the movie ends the white movie screen appears. Why can’t we seen Nibbāna? Because you can’t overcome saṅkhata. Don’t talk about overcoming it. Even very few people are seeing impermanence.

Isn’t too far that not arriving to Nibbāna? Isn’t too close & don’t know how to find it? You don’t know how to find it. You are retreating because of too far. It’s too close & you don’t look for it. And then you turn towards parami – perfection for the reason. In the Pesakopedasa Text (a commentary) it was mentioned as, listening to the sacca dhamma (teachings on truth) & paying attention to sacca dhamma will realize it.

It is too close & you can’t reach there is very bad. Therefore spiritual friend (kalynamitta) is very important. You must get this maggan train for yourself. In the whole saṁsāra beings were riding the wrong trains & encountered sufferings. Don’t ride the downwards train (dugati) & upwards train (sugati). But you have to ride the middle train (i.e. maggan).

The Buddha taught 3 kinds of dhamma, but you have to take the best one. (Continued the 6 attributes of Dhamma). Ehi passiko is object (arom) & sanditthiko is contemplative knowledge (arammanika). That is seeing saṅkhata. Saṅkhata covers up Nibbāna. Again ignorance convers up saṅkhata & not seeing it. Kilesa covers up dukkha & dukkha covers up Nibbāna. It can be also taken as kilesa covers up knowledge (nyan).

If you still not seeing impermanence is kilesa covering on knowledge. Therefore samādhi is important. It can push away kilesa for sometime & seeing impermanence. If you still can’t contemplate disenchantment of impermanence & not wanting of them, saṅkhata (dukkha) still covers it. Therfore to arrive Nibbāna have to practice & not by prayers.

So, kilesa & dukkha cover Nibbāna & we can’t see it. Only can uncover these 2 become ditthadhammo – Dhamma seeing by oneself. (Sayadaw mentioned sotāpanna’s qualities). If still not seeing impermanence, not yet overcome kilesa. Still can’t penetrate dukkha, still can’t see Nibbāna. If you have these 2 & Nibbāna is near.

Your life span is after a mind arises & passes away & next mind not arises is dead. The Buddha was reminding us for many times as living with mindfulness & wisdom (sati & paññā). Mindfulness is be aware of what happening in the body.

Everytime the body is talking to you must aware of it. Wisdom is making a decision on the arising phenomenon as what it will be? Be mindful & making a decision with paññā. A person with mindfulness knows a mind arises & passes away one by one in a series.

What happening is one’s own dying. Not do this practice & don’t know the body becomes old. And also don’t know the disintegration of it. Don’t know these things are without looking at it with mindfulness & wisdom. Not knowing is ignorance. Ignorant person will do & say what he wants.

In that way is turning towards avijjā paccaya saṅkhāra – ignorance conditions volitional formation. And then end up with ageing, sickness & death. Observe with mindfulness & wisdom, then ignorance ceases & becomes vijjā udapadi-knowledge arises. Will not encounter with ageing, sickness & death.

This is a very important matter. Therefore always mindful in the body & making decision with paññā. For e.g. an itch arises in the body. Itching is dukkha & after vanishing is sukha (unpleasant & pleasant). Pain is dukkha & its disappearing is sukhā. In our bodies feelings are changing.

Does the body tells you man or woman, a person or a being? or it telling you feelings are changing? These are aggregate of feeling (vedanakkhandha), & not a person nor a being. So during the contemplation man or woman disappears in the body. From the young age parents taught us these were men or women all the times (with concepts). So we are clinging to a person or a being (Here I summarize what Sayadaw had said in his talk.)

Therefore feeling, & khandha disappear because of the concepts. They taught us the conventional truth. Therefore I have to teach you the ultimate truth (paramattha sacca). They were also right as concepts. It’s not truth because not really exist.

Be mindful & observe with paññā, & 3 types of feeling are arising in turn (i.e. sukha, dukkha & upekkha vedanas). This is seeing the existing phenomenon,and knowing the ultimate truth. Before we are ending up

at with conventional truth. So you all are alive with the changing of feelings. There are feelings all the time. If you are using a needle poking on the body & there are no places free from feeling. Because it’s vedanakkhandha. I am analyzing it how to be mindful & observe with paññā. (Sayadaw gave many examples for the 3 physical feelings, i.e. sukha,dukkha, & upekkha in daily life).

Why I am talking so detail about it? I am concerning with the wrong view of why it happens to be like this come into your mind. (He also mentioned about mental feelings with e.g.)

Therefore at anytime we are never free from feelings. Everytime feeling arises must know it. Everytime feeling arises & observe with mindfulness & wrong view dies. These are aggregate of feeling, not a man nor a woman. After with mindfulness & decide with paññā. Only with paññā you get the knowledge.

Everytime feeling arises & knowing is mindfulness. Sukha vedana is passing away. Dukkha vedana is passing away. And upekkha vedana is passing away. Making these decision are paññā. Then it become insight knowledges. Paññā is making the decision of one by one vanishing. Mindfulness is seeing the arising proess. The Life span of feeling is now arising & now vanishing.

Therefore it’s too short of life span. It has the life span of moment arising & moment vanishing. Be mindful & observe with wisdom & seeing impermanence. To get the Path Knowledge you have to do like this. Praying for the Path Knowledge is not only you can’t get it, but also craving arises. It’s because of the desire. By contemplation only get the insight knowledge.

Be mindful & observe with paññā. The things you can ask is ageing, sickness & death. Contemplation without asking is ending the ageing, sickness & death. There are 5 path factors in sati & paññā. (3 samadhi factors with 2 wisdom factors). These 5 path factors are cutting off kilesa & leading to NIBBĀNA.

There are 5 dullābha (Difficult to encounter/gain):
① Now you are all encountering of the Buddha’s Teachings
② Also meet a teacher who can teach sacca dhamma
③ You have the ear for listening the sacca dhamma.
④ Can discern impermanence by practice – Practice in accordance with the Dhamma – Dhammanudhammapatipatti. You have completed with these 4 points.
⑤ Can pay homage to the Buddha & teacher with Nibbāna which is the ending of impermanence.

Some already fulfilled this point also. They are not so few. You all are my veneyya (enlighten by his instructions). The Buddha’s veneyyas were starting from the Pañcavaggi Bhikkhus (The first 5 group of disciples) to the last bhikkhu Subhadda. So, the other people have to fulfill the ④ & ⑤ points with perseverance in the practice.

I’ll talk about the practice in accordance with the Dhamma. Mind & form dhamma are in the body. You have to practice accordingly with them. If, it shows the arising & you know its arising. If, it shows the vanishing & you know its vanishing. The showing process is dhamma. Anupatipatti is practising accordingly.

If, it’s showing disenchantment & know its disenchantment. If, it’s showing upekkhā & know its upekkhā. These are anupatipatti. (from the Aṅguttara Nikāya). You all have the perfection (parami). Just fulfill this point (i.e. no.4). This is important. To get it, you have to do the practice by yourself. With the practice, you’ll complete it. For e.g. sleepy mind arises & you know it as arising.

If, it’s vanishing & you know it as vanishing, etc.. If, kilesa comes in & it takes longer time. If not comes in & it take a week or 7 days. Even can be achieved it by practice in the morning & realize in the evening. From ①to ③ it can be fulfilled by prayers. No. ④ is practicing by yourself.

If you can make your knowledge accordingly with impermanence & sure to realize it. No. ⑤ is more important than no. ④. The reason is for no. ⑤ to arise knowledge must be sharp. Have to contemplate as the arising is dukkha & the vanishing is dukkha. Their ending is the cessation of dukkha.

No. ④ has the 5 path factors & ⑤ has the 8 path factors. The path knowledge, the fruition knowledge & the reviewing knowledge (Paccevekhana Nyan), all are seeing the cessation of dukkha (i.e. Nibbāna).

[And then Sayadaw talked about living beings were oppressed & killed by the 3 feelings. Gave a simile of a fish. A fish is seeing a bait (upekkhā) & wanting to eat it (sukha). It gulps the bait & pulls up by the fisherman & beats to death (dukkha)].

[This was a dhamma talk for the offering of a Sāla building before the water pouring ceremony]

[In the beginning Sayadaw mentioned not to share the merits made by others for the vatta dāna (for the becoming or round of existence). Because these kinds of merit are truth of dukkha & not for ending of it. It’s important not to end up at what others believed & said.

He gave the story of Ven. Rahula (the Buddha’s only son) past life as a king. At that time he met an ascetic ­with psychic power. Everyday the ascetic went to a Nāga Kingdom under the sea for day rest. So he asked him about the place: the ascetic praised about the place. Rahula believed him & vowed to be born there. So next life after death he became a serpent king.]

Whatever khandha you have it’s never good. All are truth of dukkha, disgusting & useless. In the body there are excrements, urine, phlegm, etc. Only foulness (asubhe) exists. If you dies and nobody wants to come closer to you. If you pray for the khandha, it’s the same as may I get the isgusting & useless thing.

The meaning of samudaya (craving is the cause of dukkha) is the dhamma creating bad things. Therefore you are asking with the bad dhamma of samudaya sacca. Asking with the bad dhamma you get the bad thing. Even though you can be had the real happiness of ending dukkha after using the money. Instead you get the bad thing.

You are making friend with the dhamma, which is association with dukkha (i.e. craving – samudaya). It’s the deceiving & cunning dhamma. I am talking with the knowledge of truth (sacca nyan). So you must listen with the truth of ear. (Most people don’t have it.

They only have the defiled ear & like to hear defiled things). You have to make the wise attention of with this ageing and decrepit khandha and exchange with the not ageing & not decrepit Nibbāna. You must exchange this burning body, burning with the 11 kinds of fire with the cooling Nibbāna.

This is the dāna of exchanging dukkha with sukha. If you are using the money for eating & spending & it’s burning into ashes by kilesa fire. Therefore, this kind of dāna is pulling it away from kilesa fire.

In the performing of dāna (giving away), if you ask: “How much money has been spent?” This is not a right question. The right question is: “How much you got from it?” Because you are taking away the money & wealth from the 11 kinds of fire (Here Sayadaw didn’t mention some of the dangers which can destroy people wealth & money.

This is the day of exchanging heat with coolness. Exchanging dukkha with nirodha. Today is knowing the 2 truth (dukkha & nirodha) with the analytical knowledge. This is the forerunner of the Path Knowledge. If you really practice & will really get the Path Knowledge.

You are offering dāna as a good worldling (kalyāna puthujjana) & not as a blind worldling (andha puthujjana). Knowledge (nyan) knows the truth & not kamma. Therefore this is a dāna perform with knowledge, & will sure to reach Nibbāna. Dāna is not prolong the round of existence (saṁsāra). Not knowing the right way of doing it only prolong the saṁsāra.

[After that Sayadaw was leading people to perform a short ceremony of prayer & sharing the merit. This short prayer was in Burmese, about dukkha & for the ending of it. Not including anything like, good rebirth, wealth, beauty, long life etc.

Because these things were truth of dukkha. He talked about many dukkha starting from the mother’s womb during the pregnancy. From giving birth to the whole human life with ageing, sickness & death].